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Calzaghe ring return booked for October

12/08/2006

Double super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe's next fight will be in Britain with his first defence of his IBF and WBO crowns scheduled for October 14th at Manchester's MEN Arena.

The Welshman's opponent is as yet unannounced but he has been promised a "huge fight" by his promoter Frank Warren as he looks to further dominate the division.

Certainly he captured the attention of the crucial American market with his brutal defeat of Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy in March and a matchup with an ageing Roy Jones Junior hasn't been ruled out.

The 37-year-old American, widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world at the turn of the century, won a comfortable points decision over Prince Badi Ajamu two weeks ago.

"If he does want to carry on fighting, then a meeting with Calzaghe makes sense and I'd be very interested in promoting it," said Warren to frankwarren.tv.

"If he is serious, all Jones has to do is pick up the phone and get in contact, and then we can talk."

One opponent definitely ruled out is Clinton Woods, who is defending his IBF light heavyweight title against Jamaica's Glen Johnson on October 2nd.

Positive noises about a matchup between the British pair had been emerging from both camps, but it seems that their conflicting schedules mean Calzaghe will have to settle for either WBC champion Markus Beyer or his WBA counterpart Mikkel Kessler.

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